1. Advice to Students from Leaders in the Optics and Photonics Community

  1. Feature Of The Week: In vivo depth-resolved oxygen saturation by dual-wavelength photothermal (DWP) OCT

    All mammalian tissues need oxygen for survival. The human body has a delicately organized vascular network that supplies our tissue with oxygen and other nutrients as well as removing waist products. Not surprisingly, aberrations in vascular oxygen supply are implicated in at least 70 diseases and that number continues to grow. The oxygen distribution from vascular hemoglobin to the parenchymal cells begins with oxygen diffusion first from arterioles with diameters less than 50 µm, and second from capillaries, with deoxygenated blood draining back to venules where the blood is redirected to the lungs for re-oxygenation.

    The earliest abnormalities in oxygen exchange take place at the capillary level and these can often be discerned clinically from hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SaO2) levels in arterioles and venules. Oxygen saturation (SaO2) levels in individual capillaries is frequently too diffuse and requires a great deal of processing and is not easy to interpret, while information from larger (> 50 µm diameter) arteries and veins can be dominated by nearby healthy tissue which mask localized pathology. Conversely, information acquired from target arterioles and venules ranging in diameters from 10-50 µm can provide relatively localized and early signs of oxygen delivery abnormalities that can be valuable for making clinically meaningful conclusions.

    Current approaches to assess microvascular blood oxygenation include: a) invasive approaches such as oxygen-sensitive microelectrode techniques; b) minimally invasive methods with resolution coarser than 50 µm such as phosphorescence quenching imaging of exogenous oxygen sensitive dyes; c) non-invasive without depth resolution such as spectroscopic oximetry; and d) non-invasive with resolution coarser than 50 µm such as functional MRI and photoacoustic imaging.

    Spectroscopic Fourier Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SFD-OCT) has been reported to measure depth-resolved microvasculature SaO2 levels in phantoms and tissue. However, the variation and complexity of light scattering by blood and tissue limits SaO2 sensitivity of intensity-based SFD-OCT and complicates clinical translation. Recently, our group reported a Dual Wavelength Photothermal (DWP) OCT approach to measure depth-resolved microvasculature SaO2 levels in phantom blood vessels.

    In DWP-OCT, incident photothermal excitation light at two distinct wavelengths is absorbed by target chromophores in a sample resulting in thermally-induced optical pathlength (op) variations that are measured with a phase-sensitive OCT system. Relative concentration of the two target chromophores can be estimated from the normalized ratio of op variations at the photothermal excitation wavelengths. Recently, we extended DWP-OCT to depth-resolved in vivo measurement of SaO2 levels in a 30 µm arteriole in a murine animal model. We believe that DWP OCT instrumentation can provide clinical and biomedical researchers with a powerful tool to improve our understanding of basic pathophysiological processes underlying the natural history of various diseases as well as biomarkers to detect the earliest stages of the disease before irreversible changes have occurred and allow monitoring of long-term progression and effectiveness of selected therapeutic interventions.

    DWP OCT estimation of SaO2 levels relies on measuring optical pathlength (op) that light experiences while traveling from the probe to specific tissue layers and back to the probe. Since op is not influenced by intensity fluctuation as in intensity based spectroscopic methods we believe that further development of DWP OCT will provide an important candidate approach to image microvasculature SaO2 levels for fundamental biomedical research and clinical instrumentation.

    For more information see recent Article. Courtesy Roman V. Kuranov from University of Texas Health Science Center. To share this article click Here.
  2. Recent Articles From Around The Web

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      Explore ekjo.org (13 hours, 43 min ago)

      A Case of Ocular Toxoplasmosis Imaged with Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography A 54-year-old man presented with blurred central vision in the right eye of two weeks' duration. On presentation, visual acuity was 40 / 50 in the right eye and fundus examination showed a whitish-yellow inflammatory lesion near an atrophic, pigmented retinochoroidal scar located in the superotemporal quadrant. Serologic assessment was negative for IgM, but serum IgG to toxoplasma was elevated. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) revealed increased reflectivity from the inner retinal layer, retinal thickening, and choroidal shadowing while focal posterior hyaloid thickening and detachment were observed in the new lesion. He was treated with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, clindamycin, and prednisone. ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Carl Zeiss Meditec   Zeiss Cirrus HD-OCT

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      Explore LWW Online (13 hours, 47 min ago)

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    3. Performance Improvement and Birefringence Investigation of Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Using a Modified Arrayed Waveguide Grating

      Explore EEMCS EPrints Service (13 hours, 51 min ago)

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      Comment Mentions:   University of Twente   Markus Pollnau   Kerstin Wörhoff

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      Explore ekjo.org (13 hours, 57 min ago)

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      Comment Mentions:   University of Ulsan   Ophthalmic Technologies Spectral OCT/SLO   Sung Yong Kang

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      Explore iovs.org (14 hours, 3 min ago)

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      Comment Mentions:   Seoul National University   UCSD   Robert N. Weinreb

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      Explore SLACK Journals (14 hours, 31 min ago)

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      Comment Mentions:   New York Eye and Ear Infirmary

    7. Comparison of Macular Thickness in Diabetic Macular Edema Using Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography and Time-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

      Explore Hindawi Publishing Corporation (14 hours, 38 min ago)

      Comparison of Macular Thickness in Diabetic Macular Edema Using Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography and Time-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Purpose. To compare the macular thicknesses in diabetic macular edema (DME) measured with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and time-domain (TD) OCT. Patients and Methods. The average macular thicknesses of 50 eyes of 29 patients with DME were measured using SD-OCT and TD-OCT. Results. The mean macular thicknesses measured with TD-OCT and SD-OCT were 4 0 1 . 5 ± 1 1 7 . 8 μm (mean ± SD) and 4 4 6 . 2 ± 1 2 3 . 5 μm, respectively. The macular thicknesses measured with the two devices were well correlated (Pearson's product moment correlation, (Read Full Article)

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    8. Hyperintense plaque identified by magnetic resonance imaging relates to intracoronary thrombus as detected by optical coherence tomography in patients with angina pectoris

      Explore ehjcimaging.oxfordjournals.org (14 hours, 52 min ago)

      Hyperintense plaque identified by magnetic resonance imaging relates to intracoronary thrombus as detected by optical coherence tomography in patients with angina pectoris Aims Many investigators have speculated that hyperintense plaques (HIPs) of the carotid artery on non-contrast T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) in magnetic resonance indicate the presence of mural or intraplaque haemorrhage containing methemoglobin. Coronary plaque imaging with T1WI is challenging, and the clinical significance of coronary HIP on T1WI remains unknown. The aim of this study was to compare HIPs on T1WI with coronary plaque morphology assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT), which allows us to identify not only plaque rupture, but also fibrous cap thickness and intracoronary thrombus in vivo, in patients with angina pectoris. Methods and results Twenty-six lesions from ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Lightlab M3 Imaging Console   St. Jude Medical

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      Explore iovs.org (15 hours, 17 min ago)

      Diurnal Variation of Choroidal Thickness in Normal, Healthy Subjects Measured by Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Purpose. To describe the pattern and magnitude of diurnal variation of choroidal thickness (CT), its relation to systemic and ocular factors, and to determine the intervisit reproducibility of diurnal patterns. Methods. A prospective study was conducted on 12 healthy volunteers who each underwent sequential ocular imaging on two separate days at five fixed, 2-hour time intervals. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) with enhanced depth imaging and image tracking was performed using a standardized protocol. Choroidal and retinal thicknesses were independently assessed by two masked graders. CT diurnal variation was assessed using repeated-measures ANOVA. Results. A significant diurnal variation in ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   University of Southern California   Srinivas R. Sadda   Yanling Ouyang

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      Explore iovs.org (15 hours, 20 min ago)

      Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Enhanced Depth Imaging of the Normal and Glaucomatous Nonhuman Primate Optic Nerve Head Purpose. To test whether the enhanced depth imaging (EDI) modality improves anterior and posterior lamina cribrosa surface (ALCS and PLCS) visibility compared with conventional spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods. Conventional and EDI SD-OCT scans were obtained 30 minutes after IOP was manometrically lowered to 10 mm Hg in both eyes of 14 nonhuman primates (NHPs) with unilateral experimental glaucoma (EG). Thirteen horizontal and seven vertical radial B-scans of each SD-OCT data set were delineated by one operator masked to image type. Delineated ALCS and PLCS points were projected to 1 of 100 equal-sized subregions of the neural canal opening ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Devers Eye Institute   Brad Fortune   Claude F. Burgoyne

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      Assessment of Differential Pharmacodynamic Effects using Optical Coherence Tomography in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Purpose: To assess the differential pharmacodynamic effects of bevacizumab (Avastin), pegaptanib (Macugen), and verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT), using novel OCT parameters, in a recently completed phase III/IV clinical trial. Methods: Data from 122 patients participating in the Avastin (Bevacizumab) for Choroidal neovascularization (ABC) trial, were evaluated. Stratus OCT images were analyzed using custom software - changes in volume of the neurosensory retina, subretinal fluid (SRF), pigment epithelium detachment (PED), and subretinal tissue, were calculated over the 54-week trial period. Results: Reductions in retinal oedema were more than twice as great from bevacizumab than pegaptanib (-0.82 mm3 versus -0.31 mm3), while ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   University College London   Alexander C. Walsh   University of Southern California